Thursday, July 4, 2013

The Hazards of Working Nights: for breasts and beyond

The jury is still out whether Angelina's choice is brave or fearful, but the fact remains: having or not having the "bad" genes is not enough to develop or avoid developing breast cancer. As a matter of fact, only 5% to 10% of breast cancer cases result directly from inherited gene defects. Check it yourself, by using this decision tool developed in Stanford. Even though for members of some families with BRCA mutations the risk may be as high as 80%, this could be because of environmental exposures and behavioral habits "running in the family". What are they?

Among the controllable risk factors are hormone therapy, birth control pills, drugs (like DES discontinued in the 70s), the use of alcohol (if 2 or more drinks per day), heavy smoking since early age, gaining weight after menopause, exercising less than 1-2 hours per week, certain cosmetics and personal care products, pesticides (such as DDE), PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other environmental exposures.

One of such exposures is working at night. And Kristan Aronson's team from Queen's University showed that the risk is not limited to nurses, as in most previous studies.

The study examined over 1000 breast cancer cases vs about the same number of healthy cases, matched by age in Vancouver, British Columbia and Kingston, Ontario. It found that breast cancer risk was twice higher with 30-plus years of night-shift work versus people that did not have night-shift jobs. The risk is more than three times higher for those working at nights in the health care field. But people working at nights or having rotating schedules for shorter duration of time seem to be unaffected.
Why would staying awake after dark for many years be hazardous to health? Perhaps because of the lack of Melatonin. This hormone is produced naturally by our brains when lights go out, to make us less alert and prepare us for sleep. The more daylight exposure versus night time darkness, the better. Melatonin might help the body in many different ways - for example, by downregulating some of the hormones influencing tumor growth or by exhibiting anti-oxidant and immuno-enhancing properties.
Night shifts are also associated with increased stress and a plethora of health conditions as seen from the number of sick leaves people take, periodontal index (measure of oral health), glucose tolerance, number of heart attacks and strokes, cases of IBS and internal cancers. Actually, night time work was shown to increase the risk of cancers even more than exposure to exhaust fumes.

But this is all statistics. Individual cases can certainly break the mold. Yet, it's summer, so let's make the most of natural light.

82 comments:

Just as one international college student with a scholarship grant I seriously could not have the funds for to hire a high-end writing services to post must write my essay for me in my opinion. Additionally the particular terrible ordeals regarding most of the guy students having a few web-sites were being deterrents. However last but not least I ran across this glorious services inside spending budget.

Among the controllable risk factors are hormone therapy, birth control pills, drugs (like DES discontinued in the 70s), the use of alcohol (if 2 or more drinks per day), heavy smoking since early age, gaining weight after menopause, exercising less than 1-2 hours per week, http://findmybud.com/

Trichophytic closure is a special technique used for the closure of the donor area. Using the technique makes the scar almost invisible and even aids the growth of hair from scar. This helps the surgeon to achieve a better aesthetic outcome of the surgery. Such an advanced technique is difficult to perfect and Dr.YV Rao has mastered it.recedinghairline.us

A specialist was not only there to treat a patient, he was intended to help him remain healthy. Excessively numerous lights outside the house implied awful business for the specialist. urgent care near me

In this day and age, when the worry of present day way of life is producing a bigger number of patients than effective people it is difficult to discover or distinguish where might you get great healthcare administrations. fungus key pro

I understand that completely because what we stereotype as a salesperson is the fast talker in the cheap suit. Somebody that will say anything to get you to buy what they have just so they can get what they want. That is the furthest thing from what a professional salesperson does. free sample prescriptions

Unfortunately, insurance companies are driven by profits, not people (albeit they need people to make profits). If the insurance company can find a legal reason not to pay a claim, chances are they will find it, and you the consumer will suffer. guarantor

I’m going to read this. I’ll be sure to come back. thanks for sharing. and also This article gives the light in which we can observe the reality. this is very nice one and gives indepth information. thanks for this nice article... Whey Protein

I admire this article for the well-researched content and excellent wording. I got so involved in this material that I couldn’t stop reading. I am impressed with your work and skill. Thank you so much. online pills canadian pharmacy

One of the first and most important aspects in any business is to respect the client. If you want to create built in wardrobes in your home, you have to get in touch with the wardrobe Sydney region manufacturers that will uphold your wishes.